With a July 27th release date quickly approaching, the race is on to see which Springfield, USA city will be the official host of the "The Simpsons Movie" premiere (watch the new trailer here). In a stroke of marketing genius, Fox asked each of the 14 cities in the running to submit a video detailing why they deserve to be the Springfield, with users deciding the winner starting July 2 over on thesimpsons.usatoday.com.

For its part, Springfield, Oregon really wants to snag the prize. Lest you think otherwise, its mayor Sid Leiken hopped up on a ladder to paint (and then defile) a 25-foot statue of Jebediah Springfield, the founder of Homer's little town, in hopes of grabbing your vote. See the resulting photos after the jump, and if you appreciate their zeal, keep Oregon in mind when voting kicks off next week.